Lane Kiffin Bolts for USC

this is a discussion within the College Community Forum; ...and takes his daddy with him! LOL What a wuss. Guess he couldn't handle the day in and day out war of coach and recruiting in the SEC so it's of to USC where the recruiting and games are easy.
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...and takes his daddy with him! LOL What a wuss. Guess he couldn't handle the day in and day out war of coach and recruiting in the SEC so it's of to USC where the recruiting and games are easy.

Article:

Tennessee's Lane Kiffin has been named the next head coach at Southern California, athletic director Mike Garrett announced on Tuesday.
Kiffin replaces Pete Carroll, who jumped to the NFL as coach of the Seattle Seahawks.

"We are really excited to welcome Lane Kiffin back to USC," Garrett said in a statement. "I was able to watch him closely when he was an assistant with us and what I saw was a bright, creative young coach who I thought would make an excellent head coach here if the opportunity ever arose. I'm confident he and his staff will keep USC football performing at the high level that we expect."

The hiring was first reported by ESPN.com.
Kiffin, the former Oakland Raiders coach, led the Volunteers for only one season. Kiffin has been on the move of late. He was 7-6 in his one season at Tennessee and 5-15 in one-plus seasons with the Raiders before being fired in September 2008.

He was a member of the USC coaching staff from 2001 to '06, first as wide receivers coach and then as offensive coordinator under Carroll.
Kiffin's contract calls for him to pay a $800,000 buyout for leaving Tennessee after only one season.

"Those payments shall be made in monthly installments over a 36-month period," the contract reads. It was not immediately clear if USC would pay any of that sum. Joe Robbins/Getty Images After only one season at Tennessee Lane Kiffin is headed to Southern California. In another part of the blockbuster staff changes, a deal is being finalized for longtime offensive coordinator Norm Chow to return to the Trojans in the same capacity, sources close to the school told ESPN's Shelley Smith.

The current UCLA offensive coordinator held that position with USC from 2001-04. He was also the coordinator at Brigham Young from 1973-99, at NC State in 2000 and with the Tennessee Titans from 2005-07.
Kiffin will bring his father and defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffin, and assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron to Southern California with him.

Sources tell ESPN.com's Chris Low that Tennessee wide receivers coach Kippy Brown will be named interim coach of the Volunteers. He had been given the opportunity to follow Kiffin to USC as well.

Orgeron was with the Trojans for seven seasons before becoming the head coach at Mississippi and then an assistant with the New Orleans Saints.
Lane and Monte Kiffin and Orgeron will hold a news conference on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET in the Heritage Hall Varsity Lounge at USC.
Some USC players were excited about the hiring of Kiffin.

"It's great news," starting quarterback Matt Barkley told ESPNLosAngeles.com's Steve Mason. "I remember meeting Kiff way back on the recruiting trail when I was a freshman in high school. I liked him when I met him. I like that he knows how to live and breath the Trojan way."
Barkley who was tapped by Carroll to start as a true freshman and helped lead the team to a 9-4 record and a victory in the Emerald Bowl on Dec. 26, also expressed relief that there will be stability in terms of offensive system.

"It's comforting to know that not a lot is going to change," Barkley said. "Kiff will have his own way of doing things, but I'm glad the offense isn't going to be a whole lot different."

Running back Marc Tyler is also on board.
"This is really good," he told ESPNLosAngeles.com. "Lane is great. He's got a lot of energy. I talked to him and coach [Steve] Sarkisian all the time when I was coming in. This is really good." When told Orgeron was coming with Kiffin, he said, "Wow, Really? That's awesome too."

Garrett had been quiet about the hiring process until dropping this bombshell. "Lane brings a lot to the table," Garrett said. "He has a coaching background both in the pros and in the best collegiate conferences. He has a great command of the X's and O's. He is familiar with the Trojan landscape and will be a great representative of our university. He keeps the game fun. And, very importantly, he has proven to be one of the finest recruiters anywhere."

The 34-year-old Kiffin is one of Carroll's top disciples from his nine-year tenure at USC. Kiffin, a former Fresno State quarterback, worked his way up to offensive coordinator in 2005 while also showing impressive recruiting skills.

For two seasons, he shared responsibility for the Trojans' offense with fellow longtime Carroll assistant Sarkisian, who left USC to take over at Washington after the 2008 season. Although Kiffin's forceful personality didn't make him a beloved figure among players or administrators, he was a key part of the Trojans' best years under Carroll, coordinating their passing game and providing instruction to quarterbacks Matt Leinart and John David Booty.

Kiffin then became Al Davis' unusual choice to take over the Raiders as a 31-year-old coach with almost no NFL experience. He made it through just 20 games before an ugly public firing in which Davis called Kiffin a liar who brought "disgrace" on the Raiders.

Kiffin was the youngest head coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision last season, but he also brought an unwelcome spotlight on the Vols with several minor NCAA violations. He returns to USC with the school facing a yearslong NCAA investigation over events during his tenure as an assistant, including Reggie Bush's final years at the school.

Kiffin was suggested as a candidate immediately after Carroll's departure became official Sunday, but many Trojans thought he wouldn't be willing or able to leave Tennessee after just one year. Several coaches with USC ties said they weren't interested in the job, including NFL coaches Jeff Fisher and Jack Del Rio and Oregon State coach Mike Riley.

Monte Kiffin will lend his defensive acumen to a school that annually fielded an impressive defense under Carroll, while Orgeron is likely to return to his role as the Trojans' best recruiter who helped stack Carroll's early USC teams with a dizzying array of topflight talent.

Chris Low covers the SEC for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

I actually liked USC... not anymore with Kiffin at HC. Not because I don't think he's going to be a good coach there, but he's not someone I would trust my kids with. UT parents and players must feel really lied to right now. He comes into people's homes selling parents to trust him with their child's future only to have him bolt on them after a year. I just think that's a cowardly thing to do.

Here's a relatively detailed and informative timeline of events compiled by
the VolQuest staff regarding Lane Kiffin's abrupt departure to become head
coach at Southern Cal ...

Last Thursday night, Lane Kiffin and Ed Oregeron planned to fly to San
Antonio to begin meeting with parents of prospects at the U.S. Army
All-American Bowl; it's the same time that Alabama is beating Texas for BCS
title. Pete Carroll serves as guest analyst for ESPN but never indicates
change is coming.

So how did Tennessee go from having a coach hot on the recruiting trail
stirring chatter of a top 3 class to starting a search for a new head coach
on January 13? Here is the timeline of events over the last week that has
led the Vols to this point.

- By noon Friday, Lane, Orgeron and Monte Kiffin are in San Antonio. They
don't arrive the previous night in order to accommodate Monte Kiffin's
request to join them on the recruiting trip.

Meanwhile, chatter about Carroll leaving USC for the Seattle Seahawks, who
fire Jim Mora after just one 5-11 season, is running rampant. Speculation
continues throughout the weekend that Carroll is going to accept the
Seahawks' offer reported at five years for $35 million

At the same time, the Vols keep recruiting and pick up key commitments from
Ahmad Dixon and Brandon Willis Friday night and Saturday afternoon

- On Sunday, Kiffin sits courtside with a significant donor for the Vols'
win over Kansas in basketball, walking off the court triumphantly with Bruce
Pearl and the two shared a hug caught on camera.

By now, Mike Riley of Oregon State and Jeff Fisher of the Tennessee Titans
reportedly have told USC no thanks to replace Carroll, who is officially
hired by Seattle by this time.

Reports surface that the Trojans then target Jack Del Rio, a USC alumnus and
head coach of the Jackonsville Jaguars. Del Rio turns down USC midday
Tuesday, though speculation focuses on former NFL coach Steve Mariucci.

Meanwhile, Lane Kiffin begins to be in contact with USC officials Monday
night

It's still considered a longshot at this point. But when Del Rio apparently
says thanks but no thanks, things move at a lightning-quick pace with Kiffin

- Though he's in Orlando representing UT at the SEC meeting conducted at the
AFCA convention there, Kiffin also is in constant contact throughout the day
with USC officials, agent Jimmy Sexton and Vols athletics director Mike
Hamilton.

By around 7 p.m. ET, Kiffin has agreed in principle to be the Trojans' next
head coach and makes clear he will bring his father, Monte, and Orgeron,
with him. He also moves swiftly to hire Norm Chow as his offensive
coordinator. The two previously worked together at USC, and Chow has just
wrapped up a brief stint at rival UCLA.

Tennessee officials around 7:30 inform players of a called meeting at 9:15
p.m. Tuesday night
Players are confused by the meeting; they already have conducted a 90-minute
meeting the previous night that was in preparation of the start of the
spring semester that begins today.

- The story breaks around 8:30 p.m., though speculation has run rampant
prior to this. Hamilton is in Denver, Colo., on official business for the
University of Tennessee. He receives a very brief, concise phone call from
Kiffin informing Hamilton of Kiffin's decision to leave. There will be no
changing Kiffin's mind.

During a brief and contentious meeting with players at 9:15, Kiffin is
confronted about Orgeron calling current Vol commitments and early enrollees
about joining them at Southern Cal. Players place a call on speakerphone and
eyewitnesses say that Orgeron is heard trying to recruit players to USC.
Kiffin says it's not him and that he has no knowledge of the matter and that
he cannot control Orgeron. Kiffin is reminded in blunt, if not explicit,
terms that he's the one who hired Orgeron.

Within minutes, Orgeron's university-supplied cell phone is shut off

- After expressing their displeasure in Kiffin's final team meeting, players
begin filing out of the Neyland-Thompson Complex where several were
overheard calling Kiffin and the departing staff traitors. Defensive end Ben
Martin is in the middle of Johnny Majors Blvd. screaming "Bring back Phil,
expletive."

- At roughly 9:45, after calling a recruit, Kiffin briefly gives a statement
to a group of media members. Kiffin has indicated he will take questions if
the TV cameras are not rolling during this time. WBIR news director Bill
Shory becomes the centerpiece of the controversy, refusing to allow his
station's cameras to be switched off or to not roll video footage during
this time. Kiffin then refuses all questions, speaks roughly 90 seconds and
leaves

Kiffin is chased down the hallway and asked questions, finally responding to
what he told players and what their reaction was

Meanwhile, an angry mob on campus continues to swell in numbers and
intensity. Shirts are ripped and burned; signs bear any number of messages,
most of them involving the term traitor

The Rock is painted with an explicit message for Kiffin

- As the players continue to file out the mob gets more rowdy and moves up
and down Johnny Majors Blvd. at the sight of headlights or noise of a car,
hoping to catch a glimpse of Kiffin so they could offer their "farewell"

- Meanwhile many support staff members are unable to leave because the crowd
becomes centralized and is blocking the entrance way to the staff parking
lot of the Neyland Thompson Sports Complex

- Around 12:30 and with a police escort, Kiffin is driven from campus. His
luxury car is left in its regular parking spot. Kiffin visits briefly with
VolQuest, indicates his plans to work a half-day today and then fly to L.A.
to be introduced as Southern Cal's replacement to Carroll. At his home,
police are stationed outside to prevent any potential issues with fans.

- Meanwhile, at 3 a.m., Monte Kiffin is still in the complex and indicating
he'll spend the night there. Football operations director David Blackburn, a
vital cog in this same process a year ago following the firing of Phillip
Fulmer, assumes a similar role -- and all too familiar position. Blackburn
can't spare the time to drive home and hunkers down for a long night inside
the complex.

Hamilton has landed a few hours earlier in Nashville but already is in
meetings centered on finding Kiffin's replacement. Today at 1, Hamilton will
answer questions.

This much is clear to all who witness the bizarre scene unfold: It's Time to
figure out the new direction of Tennessee football

My question is how does a coach, who went 5 and 15 in 1.5 seasons at the Raiders, and 7 and 6 in one year at the Vols a "hot" coach?

He was fired by an NFL team and kicked out the door on his butt for lying, then he gets hired by a "storied" Tennessee football program, then leaves and gets hired by another "storied" football program in USC... and he waited and bolted on the Vols when it was convenient for him.